with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcasting in a Classroom

Sean McMinnLanguage Centre

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

1. WHAT IS PODCASTING?

2. PODCASTING IN EDUCATION

3. PODCASTING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

4. CAMPUS BEAT

– the module

– the podcast

5. CONCLUSION

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

WHAT IS PODCASTING?

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcastingis

a collection of digital media files which is distributed

over the Internet

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcastingis not simply

downloading or listening to audio

on the web.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

What is the difference?

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

The difference:

subscribe

download

synchronize

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Where to find podcasts:

iTuneswww.podcastpicklewww.podshow.co

mwww.podcastalleywww.podcast.com

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Media and Entertainment Organizations

BBCCNN

SCMPCBC

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

• Inidivudals/small teams– Radio shows -- a mix of news & current affairs, independent

music (e.g. Schwagcast, Accident Hash), interviews (e.g. You Are the Guest), music and reviews (e.g. Eclectic Mix)

– Distribution of creative works -- music (e.g. The Barenaked Ladies Podcast), comedy (e.g. Comedy4Cast), novels (e.g. 7th Son) etc.

– Recordings of events -- meetings, seminars, speeches, debates, conference sessions (e.g. IT Conversations), etc

– Sports (e.g. Boxing Scoop)– Food and Drink (e.g., The Good Beer Show)– Travel shows -- “Sound-seeing” or “sound-scene” tours (e.g.

SoundSeeingTours.Podshow.Com/)– Educational -- language (e.g. Grammar Girl), history (e.g. Matt's

Today in History)– Family-oriented -- parenting (e.g. GROW podcast, Manic

Mommies)

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcasting and Education

How can podcasting be useful in the classroom?

The potential uses of podcasting in education are numerous.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

v

Professors can use podcasts in various ways to provide materials outside of the classroom, such as:

• recordings of their lectures• review notes for a previous lecture• A preview for the next lesson

(O’Bryan and Hegelheimer, 2007)

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Or students can be asked to produce their own podcast

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

• “A podcast is like few other devices that a teacher can use in advancing a student's development. It teaches them to do research, to communicate in print, to speak effectively and grab attention with sound.”

Daniel J. Schmit, an instructional technology specialist in the college of education at the

University of Nebraska at Lincoln Students and Teachers, From K to 12, Hit

the PodcastsNew York Times January 25, 2006

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

The skills involved are not new to education.

But the how-to is much easier.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Producing a podcast is simple

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcasting should not

be the centre of attention.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcasting should

be integrated into the curriculum.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcastingshould

be invisible.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

“More and more students come to school with these skills. This is a language they not only understand but use, often and on a daily basis. […] These are the tools of their native expressiveness, and with the right guidance and assignments, they can use these tools to create powerful analytical and synthetic work.”

Gardner CampbellThere’s Something in the Air: Podcasting in

Education

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

PODCASTING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

ESL podcastsnative-English podcasts

podcasts focusing on test preparationstudent produced podcasts

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

The advantage?

Mobility

Motivation

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

CAMPUS BEAT

Campus Beat is two things:

1. a student magazine podcast produced by HKUST students; and

2. a module offered by the Language Centre.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

The Campus Beat module teaches students news writing.

The purpose: to help students become better critical readers of English, to introduce them to the various styles of writing, and to write more effectively.

Students must write a newsworthy story about something occurring on campus, record the story and submit it to their teacher who will include it in an episode of Campus Beat.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

The Campus Beat podcast is a platform for students to practice their English writing, speaking and listening skills.

In addition to the stories written by students taking the course, Campus Beat has other segments that are marketed towards a university audience. This includes commentaries, entertainment news, English language tips and English- language music.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

What does all of this mean?

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Content Type of task Type of student activity

Type of feedback

Teacher’s roles

Position of podcast in curriculum

Position of podcast in

lesson

Motivation

Integrated listening podcast

Short-answer response, comprehension

Frequent interaction with students.Some interaction with computer through the lesson.

Interpreting, evaluating, commenting, stimulating thought

FacilitatorManager

tool for learning;normalized integration into syllabus; adapted to learners’ needs

Assigned as homework; smaller part of every lesson.

Intrinsic and extrinsic

Integrated writingpodcast

News story, descriptive or argumentative essay, technical report(video or audio)

Frequent interaction with students.Some interaction with computer through the lesson.

invention, content, grammar,revision, peer, and formative

FacilitatorManager

tool for practicing;normalized integration into syllabus; adapted to learners’ needs

Assigned as homework; assessed tasks

Intrinsic and extrinsic

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

There is a potential for podcasting “to foster a more seamless integrations of in-class and out-of-class activity and materials, in addition to the wealth of authentic foreign language material freely available for download” (Thorn and Payne, 2005).

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcasting has the potential for creating intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in

students

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

Podcasting can be applied to any discipline and any course.

with permission © Mr MCMINN Sean W J

For more information about what podcasting is, how to produce one, and the uses of podcasting in education visit:

http://www.podcastingworkshop.wikispaces.com